PORT TOWNSEND — After years of false starts, the city manager is on track to receive a performance evaluation and a revised employment agreement.
“This has never been a pretty process,” David Timmons said of his evaluations at a special City Council meeting Thursday.
“It’s been frustrating. The last evaluation was never completed. It just stalled and has always been spotty and confused.
”This is something that needs to be resolved,” he said. “It always seems to get back-seated.”
After 45 minutes of discussion, the council unanimously voted to turn in evaluation sheets to Mayor David King over two weeks.
Both the evaluation and revision of the employment agreement are expected by the end of January.
Timmons, 62, was hired in 1999 as the first city manager after voters approved the move to a council-manager form of government in 1998.
The last completed evaluation was in December 2008. Timmons’ employment agreement was last updated in January 2005.
He currently earns $124,092 in salary and $48,840 in benefits.
Timmons said previous evaluation attempts “have turned into a media circus,” adding: “I am the only public official that goes through this kind of scrutiny. I don’t see this kind of process with anyone else.”
The council began the meeting by selecting a data-intensive, rather than essay-based, evaluation template because it will be easier to tabulate, then considered setting a Dec. 1 deadline for submission of the forms before rejecting that deadline.
“In fairness to the city manager and the process, we need to take a little more time looking at these goals,” King said.
“With the budget and the comp plan coming up, I don’t see how we can do an active job on this.”
Councilwoman Michelle Sandoval, who preceded King as mayor, said city business has taken precedence over employee evaluation in Timmons’ case.
“We’ve taken him for granted,” Sandoval said of Timmons.
“He’s always here doing his work, so the evaluation goes on the back burner, and we haven’t had the luxury of dealing with this in the right way.”
The evaluation form lists 10 categories: individual characteristics, professional skills and status, relations with elected officials, policy execution, reporting, citizen relations, staffing, supervision, fiscal management and community, each requiring a 1 to 5 rating.
Four essay questions with space for suggestions are included.
Aside from the evaluation and review of Timmons’ employment agreement, several council members said they hoped future evaluations could be done more efficiently and frequently, perhaps on a yearly basis.
“I hope we can outline the process so we don’t have to reinvent it every time,” King said.
Timmons said he was satisfied with the schedule and that he would write a proposal to the council that defines his job and outlines how he feels the employment agreement should change.
“The agreement is standard but needs to be updated in certain areas,” he said.
“I also want to look at this in the context of succession planning and work together so we can get this all resolved so we are all on the same page.”
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Jefferson County Editor Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or cbermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
